


Burning Rain

by dlamp



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-09-24 22:42:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9790361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dlamp/pseuds/dlamp
Summary: Reyna Song has an upcoming tournament she needs to be ready for, but she's being bullied and refuses to fight back. So a friend decided to help her out the best way she knows how.





	

Reyna had everything she needed. Her retractable staff and straight sword strapped to her back, her spear broken down and in her duffle bag, all that Marina said she’d need to meet up with her.

She pulled out her phone to double check the message Marina sent her.

> _heya heya lil raindrop! XD herd abt ur bully problems n wanted 2 help! meet me @ the warehouse on lion drive. the 1 w/ the big AS logo. I got a plan!_
> 
> _yeah, lion drive is in the slums, but dont worry. just have tons of weapons n junk on u from LJA, looks tuff! u’ll live, promise!_
> 
> _b there or b 2 >:D (lololol math joke) – luv <3 marina_
> 
> _oh, n bring a 3ds too, trust me!_

Yeah, Marina was kind of… _out there_ when it came to her texts, but she was willing to help and that’s what was important. _How_ she found out about Reyna’s bullying was a mystery though. Marina didn’t go to Lao Jiu Academy, and more importantly she was in her _twenties_. She found out about the plight of a fourteen-year-old girl ike Reyna was beyond her. Still, help was help. It wasn’t like Marina could make her situation worse.

Of course, a plan that involved meeting in the slum area of Vermillion City set off a bunch of alarms in Reyna’s head. The slums were known for being home to gangs and crime of all kind. Muggings, assaults, break-ins, and other criminal acts. It’s what the school told her, what her family told her, and knowing a good portion of the rougher students at her school came from the slums she was inclined to believe them.

The walk from the school to the slums from the academy was about 40 minutes. Reyna was no stranger to long walks, but this was pushing it. Taking a bus or calling for a ride would had probably been a better option, but busses made Reyna nervous and calling the family driver was just out of the question.

To Reyna’s shock the walk to Lion Drive was… uneventful. She had expected the worst. A fight, people trying to rob her, a gang trying to recruit her, but it turned out Marina was right, having a bunch of weapons on her kept people at a distance. There were few whispers about how an unfamiliar Lao Jiu student was walking around and her weapons, but no trouble so far. Weird. Good, but weird

There were a bunch of warehouses along Lion Drive, but true to Marina’s text there was one with a large A.S. logo on the front of it in blue graffiti. _I think I’ve seen that logo before._ It was a gang logo, that much Reyna knew, where she had seen it should just couldn’t remember (not like she wandered the slums often). The alarms that had went off before were not in full overdrive. Marina wanted to meet her here, but it didn’t add up. Was this some cruel prank?

“Um…” No one was around, and it didn’t sound like anyone was inside. She knocked on the door. No voices, no noise at all. Reyna pouted, taking another look around. _Marina wouldn’t make me come to here just to see me get beaten up… right?_ No, Marina was weird, eccentric, and kind of crazy, but not mean. “Well… if no one’s around then…” Reyna took a deep breath and began opening the door. “H-Hello?” Just as she was about to peek inside there was a sudden pull on the back of her shirt. She felt something lifting her up by the collar of her uniform, pulling her away from the door and into the air.

Panic took over. She let out a squeak, kicking her legs about and trying to escape the grip of whoever had her. “L-Let go!” She looked back to her captor, tears starting to well in her eyes. It was a girl, probably around her late teens. She had rather stunning blue flower tattoos along her face, and a rather thick physique to her. However, that was offset by the totally dead look in her eyes that made Reyna wonder if she was tired or was actively glaring at her.

“Yo,” Given the calm tone, Reyna went (and hoped) for tired. She stopped her struggling, wiping the tears from her eyes.

“H-Hi?” Her voice cracked a lot more than she liked. She _had_ to look like a total wuss right now. So much for having all the weapons make her look tough.

The girl let go of Reyna, leading to her making another squeak as she landed on her butt.

“O-Ow…” She pouted at the girl, standing back up and dusting herself off.

“You’re Rain?” The girl asked.

Reyna instantly frowned. _How does she know my nickname?_ “Y-Yes?”

The girl stared at Reyna for a moment, then took out her cell phone, staring at it. “So you are…” The girl placed a hand on Reyna’s head, ruffling her hair, something that Reyna pouted at the girl afterwards for. “Well, you guts for showing up kid, I’ll give you that.” The girl walked inside the warehouse, leaving the door open for Reyna. “C’mon, Marina’s inside.” Reyna canted her head at the girl, but followed.

The inside the warehouse looked a lot like a gym now that Reyna got a good look at it. There was a punching bag in the corner, a wrestling mat in the center, and a small set of dumbbells. What _really_ stuck out though was the DJ station in the back corner of the room. It looked so out of place with all the gym stuff in there. And sitting in that DJ station was a tall brunette wearing a blue visor and glasses. Reyna recognized that visor. The woman turned to Reyna and immediately pull her headphones off.

“Raindrop!” Marina jumped out of her chair and rushed over to hug the girl, lifting her up.

“H-Hi Marina!” Reyna hugged the woman back, albeit awkwardly. Marina kept Reyna in the air for a while longer… a _much_ while longer… long enough for it to feel awkward. “So, um… here I am.”

“Oh!” Marina let Reyna down, ruffling her hair. “Yeah, here you are. How’s my kung fu warrior doing?”

Reyna pouted, fixing her hair. “I’m alright, save for my hair.”

“Really now…” Marina placed a hand on her hips. “’Cuz _I_ heard you were having bully problems.”

Reyna blushed, scratching the back of her head. “Y-Yeah… how did you find out?”

Marina crossed her arms and grinned. “Hehe, you can’t hide anything from me Lil’ Raindrop. Marina Hall knows _everything_ about _everything_ that goes on in Vermillion City!” She patted Reyna on the head, ruffling her hair again, much to Reyna’s annoyance. “Plus, my pop’s company is sponsoring that tournament you’re in. I heard a bit of hubbub about Lao Jiu‘s star player going through some school issues.”

Reyna looked away. “O-Oh…” _I should had known._ “Yeah… it’s fine though.”

“Bzzt! Wrong!” Marina flicked Reyna on the forehead.

“Ow!”

“C’mon kiddo, you told me you wanted to be a super kung fu warrior and become an action movie star. Why are you letting kids pick on you?”

Reyna looked away. “It’s just…” Reyna bit her lip. “I don’t… want to hurt people.”

Ever since she got chosen to do perform in the upcoming Junior’s Wushu Tournament at Lao Jiu Academy all the other students in her class had been picking fights with her. It was a few teases and insults at first, but then it turned into small tussles, and then outright attacks. Reyna knew fighting back would probably stopped all of this, but… she just couldn’t. Fighting outside of classes and lessons just felt wrong. Sparring during lessons and fighting in a tournament was one thing, but fighting in a brawl?

No. No way. She just didn’t have it in her to throw a punch outside of school, self-defense or not. And telling a teacher was just _asking_ to make things worse, tattling a school where everyone knew how to fight just meant tattle-tells would get beaten up after school at _some_ point. It sucked. The whole thing just sucked. It made her want to back out of the tournament, but neither the school nor her parents would let her with it coming up in the next two months.

“Huh…” Marina stared at Reyna. The girl with tattoos stared at Reyna. Both raised an eye at each other. Then Marina grinned at the other girl.

“Hey Chi?”

“Yeah Marina?”

“Wanna’ turn this cute little blonde into a merciless killer.”

Wait, what?

“Eh, sure. Why not?”

Wait, _what_? Killer? _Her_? “Um… Marina?” Reyna looked up at the two girls, confused.

Marina turned to Reyna with a grin. A grin that Reyna could _swear_ looked evil, like a villainess about to make her into a minion. “Oh, my _cute_ little Raindrop. It’s okay, we’re gonna’ toughen you up.” Those words held no warmth or reassurance to Reyna. They sounded like more a demonic proclamation than encouragement.

“Um, M-Marina? You’re scaring me.” Reyna took a step back from Marina, and Marina just took a step closer, her smile not fading.

Marina poked at Reyna’s cheek. “ _Oooooh_ … _Ooooh_ …  Oh, my sweet. Innocent. Adorable. _Kindhearted_ Reyna-Mei Song.” Marina pinched Reyna’s cheek. “We’re gonna’ turn you into a _real_ warrior.” Marina then turned to Chiyaki. “Hey Chi.”

“Yeah Marina?”

“Looks like we’ve got a new member.”

“Heh, looks like it.”

Not good, this was **not** good. This didn’t _sound_ good. It didn’t _look_ good. Everything about this spelled something bad was about to happen. “Um, what are you guys talking about?”

The two girls stared at each other, then at Reyna, then grinned.

“Well Raindrop, from this day forth you’re a member of the Azure Squadron.” Marina placed a hand on Reyna’s shoulder. “You’ll be the fifth member of our merry band of wild gals. You’ll meet up here every day after classes and me, Chi, Connie, and Fuji are gonna’ make you the strongest, toughest, scariest fourteen-year-old kung fu girl ever!”

“Yep,” Chi placed at hand on Reyna’s head, ruffling her hair again. “You’re an Azure Girl now kid. Welcome to the gang, you don’t even need to be initiated. Now we just gotta’ dye your hair a little.”

Reyna’s aw dropped. She… she was dreaming, right? This was some sick joke, _right_? So many questions came to Reyna, but only one word could come out.

 

 

“ ** _What?_** ”


End file.
